Russell Crowe To Mix “Sand and Blood”

Russell Crowe is set to star in the epic drama “In Sand and Blood” for IM Global.

Ronan Bennett wrote the script which is apparently based on Dean King’s nonfiction book “Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival.” That story follows Captain James Riley, the captain of an American ship which was wrecked on the Western Sahara coast in 1815.

The few survivors were captured and sold into slavery for various owners until Riley convinced an Arab trader he would receive a far greater ransom from a European consul in a Moroccan port a thousand miles to the north – beginning a trek across the scorching desert.

It is unclear if Crowe will direct the project and reps have reportedly dodged multiple inquiries about the film. Luc Roeg will produce the film which Crowe teased in a tweet last week: